A variety of polymeric compounds have been actively developed so far, and such polymeric compounds have been used as various structural or functional materials.
Examples of such polymeric compounds include acetylene-based polymeric compounds such as substituted polyacetylene compounds. Substituted polyacetylenes are known to show specific properties due to their unique structures. These polymers have solubility, in-air stability and others significantly varying depending on the kind of the substituent group. These polymers have a main chain structure more rigid than those of vinyl polymers, and thus, it may be possible to raise permeability of a substance such as gas, by having a wide intermolecular chain distance by presence of a bulky substituent group. In addition, these polymers, which have main-chain conjugation, are known to show various colors according to the kind of the substituent group introduced. It is known that poly(diphenylacetylene)s can be prepared at a high weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of 1,000,000 or more and have superior thermal stability. However, the poly(diphenylacetylene)s are insoluble in any solvent, and do not have melting points, raising a problem in processability.
Substituted polyacetylene compounds developed include the followings:    o-(triallylxylyl)phenyl acetylene polymer (see JP-A-63-92619 (“JP-A” means unexamined published Japanese patent application)),    1-phenyl-2-(p-trimethylsilylphenyl)acetylene polymer (see JP-A-4-114106),    o-(trimethylsilyl)phenylacetylene polymer (see JP-A-3-246505 and JP-A-3-86738),    o-(dimethylsilyl)phenylacetylene polymer (see JP-A-4-318801), and    o-(trimethylgermylphenyl)acetylene polymer (see JP-A-6-34813).
These polymeric compounds are resistant to solvent and heat, and colorations of these compounds are able to be reduced by oxidation. However, there exists a demand for a material for practical purposes that has longer main-chain conjugation and acquires higher transparency by simple and stable oxidation treatment and that can be converted to a colorless material.